


The Taxi Valentine || l.s. a.u.

by hedgehogwriter



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Asshole Harry, Bottom Louis, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Feelings, Humor, Innocent Louis, M/M, Sexual Humor, Some Humor, Top Harry, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-10 20:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5599030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedgehogwriter/pseuds/hedgehogwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Old lovers run into each other inside a taxi near Valentine's Day. This should be eventful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I {Reunited and it feels horrible}

Louis Tomlinson was a normal lad who didn't have a valentine on Valentine's Day. He didn't plan on having one on that specific day because he really didn't have anyone that was super special like that to him. But he couldn't find himself to even care about it. He had pretty much given up all hope to even find someone after his last boyfriend.

Louis saw the stupid hearts, the stupid cards, the stupid balloons, and all of the other stupid things related to Valentine's Day, while walking along the not-so-crowded sidewalk of downtown London. He sighed, not seeing the point of all of the decorations for the holiday.

Before a certain event with his ex-boyfriend, Louis loved Valentine's Day. He would love to see other couples happy, and he loved getting chocolate on sale, too. He loved to receive little gifts from his mother and his boyfriend at the time. It made him feel this warm feeling inside his tummy and it made him feel loved, wanted, appreciated. But that one event plagued his life forever to where he couldn't feel normal anymore love or adoration for the holiday. It just wasn't the same.

Louis ended up deciding to ignore the decorations and sales of gifts, simply because he needed to get home to watch Once Upon A Time on Netflix. The show was one of his absolute favorites. Even though he wasn't exactly straight, Louis had to admit he was kind of smitten with Regina. She was hot. But he just decided, then and there, that he would spend the holiday at home, alone, eating pizza and binge-watching Netflix. That sounded like heaven to Louis.

Louis' phone brought him back to reality by buzzing with a text, so he could see a taxi coming down the street. He stuck his hand out to wave the taxi over, which he thankfully succeeded in. Louis sighed happily and slid into the empty taxi, closing the door behind him.

But after Louis slid, rather gracefully, into the taxi, another man stumbled into the taxi after him. Louis would have been mad, he would've, but this man... This man was very fit and very handsome. He was tall and slender, yet he had this muscular look to his body. This man also donned shoulder-length chocolatey brown hair that had a small wave to it. His clothes screamed, "I have a sense of fashion!" with nice skinny jeans and a sheer, floral button-up that showed off his tanned chest and tattoos. Louis couldn't help but like that.

"Oh, uh... sorry, mate! I'll just catch ano-" the man tried to apologize, before Louis cut him off.

"No! Uh... I mean, no, it's fine. We can ride together." Louis' knees almost buckled at the deep voice of the other, but he had to compose himself. He read the look on the other man's face, which was surprised, and smiled to the other man.

"Oh... thanks," the man directed towards Louis, before he turned to the taxi driver and mumbled his address out. And Louis knew exactly where it was because he used to live in the house right beside that one.

"Wait, you live on Coventry Road?" Louis asked the gorgeous man, admiring the confused look that came onto his face.

"Yeah, I've lived there since I was two. 'S what my mum has told me."

Louis now recognized the face. That stupid face that he fell in love with all those years ago. Harry had really changed. But what if it wasn't Harry? No... it had to be.

Louis wrestled over and over again in his mind whether or not it was Harry, while the taxi drove on and the man beside Louis waited patiently for Louis to answer him. If Louis was even going to answer him at all.

Louis finally gathered his wits to answer the man as they were pulling up to his house. "Uh, what was your name again?"

The other man smiled at Louis before holding out his hand, "Harry Styles. Nice to meet you..." And as Louis heard that name, all of their past memories flooded into his brain. Those past memories also included the rage that Louis had pent up for years after what happened with Harry.

Louis ignored the hand held out to him and he practically spat out his next words to the man that he could feel the hate rising into his stomach for this stupid, stupid man that he wanted to punch in the face. 

"You really don't remember me? After all that happened, Harry?" And Louis couldn't help the small bit of satisfaction that erupted in his brain after he saw a look of guilt flash over his face.

Harry stared at Louis for a moment in silence, then started fumbling around for his wallet, "Um, uh... Sorry, Louis. I have to go now." Harry tossed the money to the taxi driver and quickly told him to keep the change. While getting out, he bumped his head on the door frame and mumbled a quiet "shit" and a "sorry, mate." Louis rolled his eyes at that and found his wallet to go ahead and get the money out to pay for where he needed to go. And uh-oh...

"Um, I'm so sorry, but I don't have cash on me. Would you happen to have a credit card machine?" Louis asked, seriously hoping that this cab had one. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded where Harry lives. He could see his mum, but that wasn't the point.

"No. Now if you can't pay me, then you need to get out!" And after that, Louis was scrambling out of the taxi, extremely frustrated with the stupid driver.

And the driver doesn't have to know that Louis flipped him off and yelled a few choice words at him while he was driving away. Louis turned around to see Harry at his mailbox, retrieving his mail like a little puppy that Louis couldn't help but resent.

Harry was looking at Louis and Louis was standing there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "Why didn't you go home?" Harry decided to ask Louis.

Louis did not want to respond to Harry, but his sassy side decided to take over. "I just wanted to continue to see your lovely face, Styles."

Harry laughed at that. He laughed. And now Louis was a little bit more mad. "There's the old Tommo I used to know. Wanna come inside for some tea? Mum isn't gonna be home for a bit," Harry offered to Louis, while looking through the few bills and stupid adverts that came in the post.

Now Louis was fuming. If there was such a thing as seeing steam fly out of someone's ears, it would be coming out of Louis's.

"Really, asshole? You want to invite me in for tea, now? After all this time? After all that happened? You know, you haven't changed one bit..." Louis mumbled the last little bit, but the other parts were practically yelled to the man that was only a few feet away from him. "But you know what? You make good tea, and my feet are killing me, so I will come inside. But for the record, I still hate you. And I always will."

Louis walked past Harry and to the door of his quaint, little house. In actuality, Harry's "quaint, little house" was anything but little and quaint. The house was quite large. It was a two story brick house, and it was one of those houses that looked small on the outside, but was much bigger on the inside. Harry followed Louis to the door and opened it to reveal a clean, yet homey, living room that opened up directly to a long hallway that lead to the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Louis took off his shoes in the hallway and kicked them to the side, not really caring if it was rude or not, and walked into the living room to settle himself into where he would always sit in the past. Harry just went straight into the kitchen to start up the kettle for the tea. Louis sat there thinking about the last time that he was in this house and on this couch. Honestly, Louis had shut those thoughts out of his mind for a while, but now, he decided to let them come back for a little while.

Just a little while...


	2. Part 2 {Tea Talk}

Louis stiffly waited on Harry’s couch for his tea. He felt unsure of what to do with his hands and feet. Does he relax into the couch as he normally would? Does he just sit there and wait like a guest would? Louis chose the latter of his two options. Being in this house felt nice and warm, but he refused to let himself feel those two feelings. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes tightly in frustration. 

All he wanted was to wake up from this nightmare that he knew was real. Louis glanced at some pictures hung on the walls that were of Harry and his sister when they were younger. Louis cringed and looked away. And there were more pictures, Louis was in these. Harry had his arms wrapped around Louis and was trying to jump on his back. Louis just shut his eyes and bent over, his head in his hands. Maybe with his sight impaired momentarily, he could ignore all of the memories that would bubble to the surface at every little trinket or photograph. 

It didn't happen. Even with his eyes closed, the memories would still surface just from seeing those few photos.

 

_ “Haz! Haz put me down, you wanker!” Louis yelled, but with adoration and fondness in his voice. Harry put the smaller boy down and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips since they were at family gathering.  _

_ “Here, jump on my back. I want to see if I can carry you,” Louis suggested, an excitable glimmer in his eyes.  _

_ “Okay, Lou,” Harry said, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and jumping up onto his back.  _

_ Snap. _

_ Jay smiled from behind her camera, while snapping shots of the two boys in love. She adored Harry as her own, and hoped one day that the two would marry and have their own children.  _

 

After what felt like a blink of an eye, Harry walked out of the kitchen with two cups of tea, one for Louis and one for himself. Harry noticed the hunched over Louis and was confused. He wondered what could’ve caused Louis to do this, but maybe the tea would help.

"Here you go," he said, handing over a cup to Louis, who jumped slightly from the startle and immediately sat back up on the couch. "Did I scare you?"

"Yeah, your face is quite the eerie sight," Louis mumbled, sitting straight up like board while quickly grabbing the cup from the other male's hand and taking a frustrated sip from it.

Harry seemed taken aback for a moment, but then just shrugged. "You haven't changed a bit," he told him, taking a seat next to him and leaning against the armchair as he took a sip from his cup as well.

Louis rolled his eyes a bit, before averting his gaze from him and to the floor. If he looked at Harry, then he knew that feelings (of whatever kind) would arise and he would talk about them. Why couldn’t  he just hit his head and wake up with amnesia? It would make everything easier for Louis. But nothing could ever be made easy for him.

"So, why are you actually here?" Harry finally spoke after a couple minutes of silence. "I know you're not here because of me, as much as I'd wish for that to be true."

"I didn't have cash on me. Fucking driver kicked me out of the taxi. Who even does that?" he mumbled, still avoiding his eyes.

"Well, you can't just get a ride in a taxi for free," the curly-haired lad pointed out.

"Maybe not, but he didn't have to be a damn prick about it. Could've said, 'oh, sorry mate, but I'm gonna have to drop you off here if you can't pay for the ride,' but no, he was screaming _bloody murder_ about me being in his presence. People these days!" Louis ranted, not realizing that he was probably going on about it for longer than he should have.

Harry chuckled, shaking his head and taking another sip from his tea. Louis never ceased to amuse him. Even when the two were not on good terms. 

"What? What are you laughing at, shithead? Imagine if it happened to you! How would you feel then?" Louis snapped.

"You. Like I said before, you haven't changed," Harry pointed out, still smiling even though Louis was calling him names. Even though Louis was calling him names and cursing his name, he still enjyed hearing the smaller man’s soothing voice. That voice used to sing him to sleep, or stay on the phone with him until he fell asleep or just to hear him breathe. He missed it. 

Seeming appalled, Louis huffed and looked away from him again, holding his cup with both of his hands to warm them up. The house was oddly cold compared to his own apartment and the cooler outside temperature.

"Are you cold?" Harry asked.

" **No** ," Louis snapped, glancing at him for a brief moment before staring down into his cup, like he was trying to get it to spell out words of advice, and he probably was. But it wasn't alphabet soup, it was tea.

"Okay, okay," Harry said, letting it go, even though the smaller male was shivering. Without another word, he stood up and walked into the hallway to turn the heat up.

"What are you doing?" Louis called, turning his head toward the hall he had just walked down.

"Turning the heat up," Harry said simply as he walked back into the living room.

"I told you I wasn't fucking cold."

"You act like I don’t know you, Lou,” Harry said to him. And that was a mistake on Harry’s part.

“You used to know me, Harry. Key words _**used to**_. You messed that up for yourself, so do not go around acting like you think you know me anymore, because you don’t. I’ve changed, Harry,” Louis ranted, his hands squeezing the teacup in his hands. He sighed, releasing some of the tension on the teacup. 

Harry didn't even seem to react to Louis’s rant, opening his mouth to continue, but then Louis slammed his teacup onto the coffee table, or tea table in this situation, and stormed off into the hallway. Sadly, to Louis, he remembered exactly where the bathroom was. 

"Oops," Harry said out loud to himself. If Louis was there, maybe he would have said 'Hi', but that was something they did years ago. It didn't matter anymore.

Louis locked the door behind him, and stared into the mirror. He looked like an absolute mess. His hair was disheveled and he had dark circles under his eyes. Louis just couldn’t sleep the past few days. 

While staring at his dreary reflection in the mirror, Louis couldn’t help but think of how he'd stay with Harry any longer, and he'd only been there for a little while. Louis knew that he had the option to go to his mum’s house about a block down, but he kept telling himself that he couldn’t go there for several rubbish reasons. Most of them weren’t even rational, but he didn’t care. If he just kept telling himself that he couldn’t, then he would continue to believe it. 

Quickly using the bathroom, Louis let out a groan and finally came out. He walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, finding Harry sitting on the couch and still sipping on that stupid fucking tea.

"Okay, listen," Louis started, crossing his arms over his chest and staring over at him. "You need to stop being a dick, or I'll just leave and try to walk home. Probably get beat up and kidnapped by some random dude, but you'd probably like that, wouldn't you?"

"No, Louis," Harry said, putting the cup down and standing up to walk over to him. 

Louis took a step back at that and gave him a look that said, 'don't come any closer,' and Harry listened. "You think I would, but I wouldn't. You think I'm a huge asshole, but I'm not. Or I at least try not to be."

"You're not trying very hard,” Louis scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest while looking at Harry. He noticed the swallow tattoos on his chest, but quickly looked back up into his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to come off like an ass."

"Apology not accepted."

"Louis, I can't do all the work here. You have to stop being an asshole, too."

"Me? I have to stop being an asshole? I have the right to, after everything you did-"

"Would you stop bringing that up, Louis?! You act like I haven’t even apologized for my mistake. It’s not all my fault here. Have you actually thought about that, Louis?"

Louis flinched when Harry rose his voice and shook his head, disgust clear on his face. "I give up on you. I seriously do," he grumbled, turning away from him and slumping down on the couch. "Just go away. Don't talk to me anymore. I may have to be here, but I'm not speaking to you after now."

"Louis-" Harry started, but Louis held his hand up without looking at him. "Louis, stop being like that. All you’re doing is acting like a five-year-old instead of an eighteen-year-old."

Nothing.

"Fine, Louis. Be five-years-old. I’ll be in the kitchen making myself some food."

Only the sounds of Harry removing himself from the couch were heard inside the large house. Louis just huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Louis may curse like a sailor, but he acted like a child. Louis could hear the small pitter patter of Harry working in the kitchen and in that moment, he wished he had earplugs or even headphones to drown at the noise.

Secretly, Louis liked hearing it because it reminded him of when Harry would cook for him and bring it up to him on a cute little tray. He even did it on their last Valentine's Day together. _And of course_ , Louis thought, _I would remember that fact right now._ Louis looked up to the ceiling and silently prayed for something or even someone to just kill him right now. He was about forty percent sure that it might be better than dealing with being in Harry's house and reliving all of his old favorite memories.

Harry came back into the living room and grabbed the remote to turn on the television mounted on the wall above the fireplace that wasn't lit at the moment. Louis glanced at the plate in Harry's ginormous hand, and his stomach growled. _Of fucking course it would_ , Louis thought to himself. Harry heard the small grumbles and grabbed one of the two grilled cheeses on his plate and outstretched his hand to Louis. 

"Here, Lou-is. Just take it, okay?"

Louis took the sandwich and took small bites of the sandwich, relishing the taste over his deprived palette. The food was actually good, even though it was only grilled cheese. Louis mumbled a small "thanks" to Harry before looking at the television that Harry had turned on. 

"You're sleeping here, yeah?" Harry asked, Louis glancing at the younger man while he spoke. Louis shrugged, while looking at Harry's tiny dimples on his face. Louis used to lean up and kiss them whenever he wanted to, while they were dating. But he couldn't think about that now. It just couldn't be thought about.

"I'll take that as a yes. I'll get the guest room set up for you, then."


	3. Part III {Lavender}

_Silence._

Louis sipped his tea from the teacup in his hands while Harry was setting up the guest room for Louis. The tea was lukewarm now since it had been a little bit. Harry came back and sat down beside Louis.

Harry tried to get Louis to talk by asking him questions, nudging him, and even going to the extent of taking his own coffee cup and threatening to pour it on Louis’s thigh.

Louis noticed the idiotic advances that Harry was taking, and heaved a sigh that followed with a slight chuckle. He swatted Harry’s hand that held the teacup away from his leg, while giggling. Louis realized what he was doing and stopped quickly. He couldn’t let himself become comfortable again with Harry.

“We can watch t.v. if you want. Or Netflix. I do have it,” Harry asked, looking around to find the t.v. remote. He dug inside the couch cushions, trying to find the stupid rectangle, so he could put on Netflix for Louis. Louis stared at Harry as he looked for the remote and he convinced himself after some coaxing that it wasn’t funny.

“Finally!” Harry yells, holding up the remote. Harry rearranged the couch, so it looked the way it was, then plopped down onto the couch next to Louis. “Whatcha want to watch?” Harry scolled through the title selections and noticed Once Upon A Time.

“Oh, this looks good. Have you seen this?” Harry asked, so comfortably to Louis. Louis hated it. How could he be so comfortable around Louis after what happened?

“How can you act and talk to me like what happened never happened, Harry? I just don’t understand it,” Louis said, rather small. He fidgeted with his hands in his lap, while waiting for an answer.

Harry was speechless after hearing Louis’s words. Each one hit him like a stab in the heart. He could feel himself shutting down slowly while trying to come up with an answer. “I-I don’t know. I just… It just doesn’t feel different being here with you. It still feels like two years ago before I cheated on you.”

Louis sighed and felt his insides cave in at the desperateness sounding in Harry’s voice. But he couldn’t let himself feel sorry for the man beside him. “Well it’s different now, Harry. You cheated on me and not even a week after we had sex together. You can’t say that nothing has changed because I cried over you, Harry. I cried for weeks and weeks, feeling so worthless and feeling like I wasn’t good enough for you, you inconsiderate fool.”

Louis just wanted to hit and punch Harry until he wasn’t upset with him anymore. Louis’s anger was finally bubbling up inside his body like the lava inside of a volcano.

Harry looked over at Louis, who looked like he was about to cry. His eyes were tearing up, but it looked like he refused to let them fall. “You’re right. I’m an inconsiderate fool. I cheated on the best thing that has ever happened to me and I’m so sorry. I know that apologies will never be good enough but I am sorry,” Harry told Louis, with sincerity clear in his voice. Louis knew that he was sorry, but he couldn’t just forgive him.

Louis stood up from the couch and wiped away a stray tear that had fallen from his eye. “Just leave me alone, okay? I’m going to sleep now, Harry.” Louis wrapped his arms around himself and shuffled away to the guest bedroom that he knew all too well. It had been the room he would stay in before the two started to date. But even then, he would sneak to Harry’s room to sleep. The two were inseparable ever since they met.

_"Louis! Please come outside to meet our new neighbours!" Johannah called to her little seven-year-old son. She desperately wanted him to make some friends in their new neighbourhood, since she was the reason he had to leave all of his old friends._

_Louis dropped his red race car reluctantly, and stomped outside with an attitude that Jay really wanted to take care of, but they were outside where people could see. Louis saw a boy that was shorter than he was and a girl with bangs, sitting in the yard with several toys in front of both of them. Louis walked over to the boy and sat down in front of the new children and examined their toys. The girl was playing with some Barbies, but Louis didn’t care about the girl. He cared about the light brown headed boy playing with a blue race car with orange flames on the sides._

_"I like your blue race car. I have a red one," Louis told the brunette boy, hoping to appease his mother by talking to the boy. And maybe he could gain a friend out of this..._

_"Thanks. I got it for my birthday. I have more inside my playroom. Wanna see 'em?" The other little boy was a bundle of joy who loved to play with race cars and his teddy bear._

_Louis nodded and followed the little boy over to his house and into his play room that really was a bedroom with a bunch of toys in it. But the two boys didn't know the difference._

_"What's your name?" Louis asked, plopping down on the floor in front of the other boy._

_"Oh, 'm Harry. You're Lou-ee, right? That's what Mummy told me. Your name is cool, though."_

And that little playdate in the room that Louis was in, right then, started their whole friendship. After that, the two would play until one of their mums would have to come in and take the other home. Sometimes, even on school nights, they were allowed to spend the night at each other’s houses since they lived near the other. They would ride to school together and even then, the two would hate to be separated by the different classes that they were in. It was a definite curse, they both thought, that they were always put in separate classes.

Harry decided to honor Louis’s request and leave him alone for the night. Harry knew that it was useless to even try to get Louis to talk after that. Harry wanted, somehow, to get Louis back. He just wanted to hold him, cuddle him, and kiss him like he used to. Being here with Louis, made him want those things with Louis again. It made him depressed, but he felt that he should keep trying. if he kept trying, maybe Louis would come around. Maybe he could finally kiss him once more. “I still love you,” Harry whispered, one tear falling from his eye, before he put on _Tarzan_. If he couldn’t have his Louis, then he could at least gain a little hope by watching Tarzan fall for his Jane. Disney could always put him in a better mood.

After _Tarzan_ , Harry stood up from the couch and walked up the stairs and to his own bedroom. He stripped of his tight jeans and floral button-up before he came to the realization that Louis didn’t have any clothes to sleep in. Harry threw on a t-shirt, then rummaged through his drawers. He knew he still had some of Louis’ clothes somewhere… Or he didn’t. Harry grabbed his large lavender sweater that Louis would always wear whenever he spent the night. He even wore it the morning after. Harry remembered it. But he did not have time for that.

Harry took the sweater and some sweats he found, then walked them over to the closed the guest bedroom door. “Louis? I’ve got some sleep clothes for you, if you’re still awake?”

Louis heard the small voice outside of the door. He was freezing under the duvet and sheet in just his boxer shorts. He never slept in just his boxers because he was always cold. He got up from the bed, his arms around his tummy, while he cracked the door. “Thanks, Harry,” Louis whispered out, his voice raspy and full of sleep deprivation. He took the clothing from Harry, accidentally touching Harry’s fingers in the process. Louis jerked his fingers back, with the clothes in his hands. “Night,” he rushed out, before closing the door in Harry’s face.

Harry jumped back a little startled from the encounter, and from the door closed in his face. “It’s a start, then,” he mumbled, making his way back to his room.

Louis took the sweater and looked at it, feeling the material in his hands and feeling the memories of this sweater seeping into his skin and traveling to his brain. He hated and loved this sweater so much at the moment. But he was cold. He needed the warmth, so he slid it over his head and internally smiled at the feeling of the sweater on his body. Louis missed it more than he would ever admit. He disregarded the sweats that Harry paired with the sweater and just crawled into bed, cherishing the feeling of the sweater while he could. He would allow himself to be okay with this, just for now. Just for the night.


End file.
